Safety Tape

ABSTRACT

A safety device includes a container, which can be worn or carried by a person, which contains a length of tape. The tape is photo luminescent or reflective and can be deployed from the container, when required.

TECHNICAL AREA

This invention relates to the area of safety devices, particularly those which are worn by people to enhance visibility or devices which are used to render hazards more visible or those which assist in locating people during searches.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

It is well known for people to wear clothing with reflective or fluorescent portions to aid in the visibility of the person to others. Examples of this are life jackets and jackets or vests worn by cyclists which are marked to make them more visible.

It is also common for workmen and/or people involved in search and rescue operations and fire fighting and the like to wear protective clothing which is marked with reflective or fluorescent material in order that they can be recognised in the dark when illuminated in some fashion.

It is however extremely difficult to locate people who are lost, either in the bush or skiing or elsewhere, on the basis of reflective or other additions to their clothing as from any significant distance they are essentially a point source which is easily missed even from the air.

OUTLINE OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to ameliorate the above problems by providing a safety device which can be conveniently worn or carried on a persons body or clothing and which device can be deployed to greatly increase the area of visibility of a missing person to searchers.

The invention is a safety device having a container which can be worn or carried by a person and which contains a length of tape which is highly visible and which can be deployed from the container when required.

It is preferred that the length of tape be photoluminescent or reflective.

It is preferred that the container be carried in a pocket or be attachable to a person's body or clothing.

It may also be preferred that it be provided with clip means.

It is further preferred that one end of the container be openable and while it is preferred that an end cap be removably held in place by side clips it is envisaged that any form of opening of the container which provides access to the tape is included in the invention.

It is preferred that the tape be packed in pleated form and that it be of the order of 10 m long. This again is only a preference in the invention but it does provide a significant area of tape which can be deployed while still being able to be accommodated within a relatively small container.

It is also preferred that one end of the tape be held retained in the container.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood we shall describe by way of non limiting example a specific embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURE

FIG. 1 Shows an exploded diagram of the components of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 a safety enhancing device 10 is provided which is a container 20 which can be worn or carried on the body and which contains a length of fluorescent or reflective tape 30 which is approximately 10 m long and several cm wide. In is preferred that tape made using high technology glass bead retro reflective technology be used however any appropriate material may be used.

This volume of tape is conveniently packed, preferably in pleated form, in a generally rectangular container 20 consisting of sides 11 and 12 although any shape could be chosen. The pleated tape is positioned in compressed form between lug 14 and latitudinal member 15 on the inside of side 12 of the container. As the tape is packed pleated it can be rapidly deployed when required. The compression of the tape also aids in quick deployment.

Were a wound tape to be used this rapid deployment would not be possible. Additionally the container would have to be more bulky and be less suitable for carriage in a pocket unlike the safety device of the invention which forms a relatively small flat package which can be unobtrusively stored in a pocket of a garment.

The container could however be worn anywhere on the person although preferably in a pocket, but it may also be provided with a clip on one face, for attachment to a person's belt.

In this embodiment of the invention one end of the tape is attached inside the container to one end of it at latitudinal member 15 while the opposing end 40 of the container is a retaining member which can be removed as required by depressing two release clips 41 on either side of that end of the container. As can be seen the retaining member 40 cooperates with apertures 42 in the sides of the container 20 such that the release clips or lugs 41 engage in these apertures.

The removable end 40 of the tape container may be attached to the other end of the tape however this is not an essential feature of the invention. Once it is released however the tape which had earlier been held in compression inside the container 20 will issue from it and be available for use.

Once a person becomes lost or in need of some manner of assistance it is a simple matter to release the tape and fasten each end of the tape or container to objects which are nominally of the order of 10 m apart. This provides a highly visible object which is also detectable if an illumination source were to pass over it.

It is preferred that the tape be deployed at the edge of a clearing or in an opening in a tree canopy. It is then preferably deployed at head height and tied between branches of trees or the like at either end of the tape. Where two tapes are used these can be crossed to provide an improved visual signal.

In the embodiment of the invention described a clip 70 is provided at the free end of the tape and another clip 60 at the end of the container. These may be used to retain the tape where required however these are not an essential feature of the invention.

However the tape is deployed the invention concerns a portable container which is easily worn by a user and which permits a significant length of a photoluminescent or reflective tape to be extended over a large area when required thereby greatly increasing the chances of searchers determining the person's location.

The precise materials used are not restricted in the invention and whilst we have described herein a specific embodiment of the invention it is envisaged that other embodiments of the invention will exhibit any number of and any combination of the features previously described and it is to be understood that variations and modifications in this can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A safety device, comprising: a container; means for permitting a person to wear or carry said container; and, a length of tape contained within said container, said length of tape being photoluminescent or reflective and capable of being deployed from said container by the person, as desired.
 12. The safety device according to claim 11, wherein said length of tape includes a surface of reflective glass beads.
 13. The safety device according to claim 11, wherein said container has a substantially flat-sided shape for enabling to the person to carry said safety device in a pocket.
 14. The safety device according to claim 11, wherein said length of tape is packed in a pleated form in said container.
 15. The safety device according to claim 11, wherein said container includes an end cap having means for releasing said end cap from said container.
 16. The safety device according to claim 15, wherein said means for releasing said end cap includes bosses extending from a side of side members depending from said end cap inside said container, said bosses extending through apertures in said container and depressible for effecting release of said end cap.
 17. The safety device according to claim 16, wherein said length of tape is fastened at an end inside said container, said end being an opposing end from said end cap.
 18. The safety device according to claim 17, wherein said end inside said container is a first end with said length of tape also being fastened at a second end to said end cap, said second end being an opposing end vis-à-vis said first end.
 19. The safety device according to claim 11, further comprising means for clipping said container to an object for assisting the person in fastening said length of tape, when deployed.
 20. The safety device according to claim 19, wherein said means for clipping said container are located on two opposing ends of said container. 